What’s better than buying one of the most beloved calendar apps for mobile? Buying two of them.
After snatching up Acompli in December, Microsoft has acquired Sunrise, another popular calendar app on iOS and Android.
Microsoft paid close to $100 million for Sunrise, according to TechCrunch. That seems like quite a high number for such a small startup with a free app, but Acompli cost Microsoft $200 million.
Sunrise offers a unique take on the calendar experience by tying in all kinds of helpful services, like Facebook Events, Google Maps, weather forecasts, LinkedIn profiles, and more. Google Calendar, iCloud, and Exchange accounts are supported.
Paired with a nice interface, the app’s features have managed to gain a loyal following — yet it’s still nowhere near as popular as some of its competitors. Yahoo Mail, Outlook, and Dropbox’s Mailbox are in the top 10 of the App Store’s Productivity section right now, and Sunrise isn’t even in the top 100.
It’s unclear what Microsoft will do with Sunrise. Acompli was just rebranded into the official Outlook app, so there’s a strong chance Sunrise’s features could be baked in as well.
We’ve reached out to Sunrise for comment.
Update: Both Microsoft and Sunrise have confirmed the acquisition. “We are making this acquisition because we believe a reinvention in the way people use calendars on mobile devices is long overdue,” said Microsoft. The Sunrise team says it will continuing developing its apps on all platforms, including iOS and Mac.
